The PlayStation 4 could be as restricted as the Xbox One

Darryl Linington from ITF Gaming writes: Microsoft has finally come clean regarding everything related towards DRM and second hand games. However, once reading through the confessional, one tends to realise that the lockdown on second hand games as well as having access to an internet connection may not just be a Microsoft thing.

Makes you wonder why Microsoft would go through with this when Sony was not, and why are Big Publishers supporting Sony if it still allows used games. I have a feeling Sony was too scared to go first seeing how rabid its fanbase is and Microsoft had the balls to come clean knowing that they will always have there loyal COD and Halo crowd to sell there systems no matter what they do.

this^^^ if people think that users arent going to experience similar restrictions on a very similar product they are crazy.

if im a publisher for example, i can make a game on one console where it cant be resold or is but with restrictions, and pretty much anytime it exchanges hands/owners i profit or i put it on a console where i lose money when/if that happens. why do i even bother with he second one then?

is it greedy, yeah but it is what it is. i dont see sony exempt from this, if they are, thats fantastic but i highly doubt it

Had the balls? LOL ! Consumers are getting fucked over by companies and u say they have balls to do it ! LOL ...no wonder such stuff still sells. I will never get why people bow down to such shit and buy thier stuff.

If all consoles go this way, I will have to go back to PC and NOT pay them any money. THey can have a quartet set of balls and go through bankruptcy ! I won't give a damn.

I own what I own, if the game is to be rented I won't pay full price. As simple as that !

@Quark 9 - It may work for publishers at the beginning but if no one buys the Xbox One they won't be making games for it no matter how friendly the restrictions are to them. If PS4 also has this and no one buys it and everyone goes to Wii U, do you really expect publishers to make games where no one is playing?

"This means that if publishers are indeed in control of how their games operate on each console, then Sony and the PlayStation 4 would have to adhere to the same restrictions that Microsoft has been placed on the chopping block for… right?"

While Xbox one is DESIGNED to allow publishers control, PS4 is not(the reason there's no internet connection required). If publishers choose to block PS4 games it will have to do with their servers and not the PS4 hardware, meaning that there will be many games that doesn't require internet just to play like the Xbox one. Blocking PS4 will be like publishers putting Internet required to play across all of their games which would be financial suicide, especially considering there WILL BE GAMES that don't enforce such restrictions. Some publishers will use these restrictions against other games to their advantage.

i agree, and maybe that will be the case maybe it wont be but one thing is for sure, the majority of consumers arent those on this website. most of them just arent that educated on the products they buy and all these restrictions will likely be a punch in the face after they already bought it.....but thats the problem, "already bought it" which means its sold, done deal and unless they either return it or sell it, which some will but the majority wont, then that means increased install base, which means people will want games which means publishers will have that choice

"This means that if publishers are indeed in control of how their games operate on each console, then Sony and the PlayStation 4 would have to adhere to the same restrictions that Microsoft has been placed on the chopping block for… right?"

You don't see the contradiction? If publishers are in control of how their games operate ON EACH CONSOLE, Sony can do what they want and allow what they want on their console. Just b/c MS is anti-gamer, anti-consumer doesn't mean Sony or the PS4 will be too.

Folks, this is just not possible without an internet connection, which the PS4 does not require, AND online registration, which the PS4 does not require.

All this wishful thinking on behalf of Microsoft is understandable, but not accurate.

Microsoft really mis-judged the market by this much. Sony did not make the same mistake.

Personally, I think Microsoft got misled because they were able to get away with charging people to play online over their own internet connections and figured that those same people would go for this DRM. But regardless of why they thought it, it is now clear that they did. Phil Harrison understood it and explained it to us perfectly.

@yesmynameissumo, are you that naive sony has said its up to the publisher, if they were going to refuse any type of drm they would have just said "we wont allow any used game drm"....so what does it matter *how they design their consoles in regards to drm, if EA decides to charge a fee the end result whether on X1 or ps4 is you're going to have to pay or not buy EA games. Sony sure is hell isn't going to cut EA off from their platform....its business.

Sony has also said they have no Internet requirement, no game registration requirement and are not blocking used games. EA could easily collect $ from a PS4 online pass, as that is the choice they have as a publisher on Sony's hardware. It is business and EA needs Sony as much as Sony needs EA.

You all seem to forget that developers can be as restrictive as MS. But I don't think a single development company would pursue this on any level as the responsibility is all on their decision instead of Sony themselves.

As much as I like to blame MS for all of this DRM stuff, it is looking likely that Sony will also have a similar DRM system (although the lack of online requirement pretty much confirms that it will be nowhere near as limiting as the Xbone).

We probably should be blaming the publishers, because I can easily see that EA and Activision had a hand in this announcement, and it was probably one of the reasons why they were both at the MS press conference. If PS4 goes DRM-free, and COD: Ghosts is exclusive to XBone (obviously it would have to be just that console not PS3 or 360 either), XBone wins, simply because the game is way too popular. I don't think Activision would have the balls to do that, so I hope to God that Sony has the balls to stand up to the publishers and say no DRM or at least, completely optional DRM (i.e. if you want to install the game and play without the disc, this is what you have to agree to, but you don't have to etc.).

Microsoft built this into their console, Sony does not have to go down the same path. The crap Microsoft is doing is their own design. If they made a console without it do you really think the game makers would refuse to put out games on their console? No, they wouldnt. This is All Microsoft. And if they get away with this, they will take it further. Its them trying to take complete control of what you do with what you buy. I will not support this.

"Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games."

"Microsoft does not receive any compensation as part of this. In addition, third party publishers can enable you to give games to friends. Loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners." http://news.xbox.com/2013/0...

-This is definitely being pushed by publishers when you consider micro isn't being compensated....and you sound so hypocritical bashing microsoft but if sony does drm its all microsofts fault because of course sony doesn't have ANY choice....Nintendo says hi.

I think the point that people are missing overall is that there are two types of DRM applied in this situation. We have software/medium DRM and we have console/hardware DRM. Software DRM is will be applied through the publisher but for verification it needs a internet connection. Hardware DRM is something totally different. Meaning that the content placed on the console is being controlled by the console not the software applied.

Sony is applying software DRM, allowing the publishers to control how the content is applied through their system. MS is however using both Software and hardware DRM where MS is controlling the content on the system as well as the publishers controlling the software applied to the platform.

From that how is Sony applying any DRM rules. The only DRM rules that I see is from MS. If Sony decides to apply hardware DRM rules, than this is something of another matter. Sony, has already stated that the system will allow used games and play off-line. How can DRM be applied via those scenarios. Unless the codecs on the BR disk are implied to only relay or publish on one system. IDK, the best thing to do is wait on E3, which is a couple of days away to find out the information.

This is all I am going to say. There is absolutely no benefit to owning an online only console unless the games can all be purchased online and they are cheaper. (eg. Steam)

However, MS is not doing that. We still have to buy discs and we still have to pay full price. Anyone defending this is either a paid employee or complete fanboy. Its disgusting that any consumer would purchase this, and say to Microsoft "I am ok having you take away my rights as a consumer"

Every restriction that the new Xbox has is simply to benefit the developer/MS. None of it is for the consumer.

Id rather be naïve than ignorant, and supporting this kind of corporate control over what you own is ignorant. I mean, if your internet goes out you cant even play games. In the future when they stop supporting it, you wont even be able to go back and play what you paid for... no nostalgia gaming here. Not everyone has internet or lives in an area that allows for anything more than dial up, if that. I honestly hope the Xbone fails big time. We need to send a message that we arent going to support such a crackdown on what we own. I mean, I wouldnt even be able to take my own game to my brothers house to play it with him with this kind of restrictions. There are better ways to get people to buy new games as opposed to used.

MS might drag Sony down in this regard, but I don't think it would be anywhere near to the extent that MS are doing it simply because the X1 appears to be designed with mechanisms that have these restrictions in place.

Still, its a cause for concern and like I've said before, I really hope Sony against this trend that MS trying to set up.

Im confused when it comes to xbox one rules it says you can give a game to one person on your friends list if the have been on there for 30 days and can only do it once which isnt a big deal but does that mean you can buy one game and have unlimited use of it for yourself and a friend at the same time?